Click herefor an interview with Justine Henin's brother David in Peter Bodo's TennisWorld.

By Kamakshi Tandon

Justine Henin is reaching out - and still winning. Her latest French Open title is her third in a row and her fourth in five years.                  © Francois Guillet/ AFP Getty

Like last year, the Belgian won the title without dropping a set. And like every year she’s won, she recorded a comfortable victory in the final, defeating Ana Ivanovic 6-1, 6-2 in just over an hour. It’s her third title in a row and fourth in five years.

Off the court, however, her life is quite different. For the first time, she hoisted a Grand Slam trophy without her husband in the stands – she and Pierre Yves Hardenne ended their marriage earlier this year, causing Henin to miss the Australian Open.

So instead, she hoisted a Grand Slam trophywith her two brothers and sister watching from the stands for the first time. Long estranged from her family following the death of her beloved mother when she was 12, she reconnected with her father and siblings three months ago. Her father, she said, watched the match on television and the two spoke afterwards.

Henin has tried to keep details of the reconciliation private, as she does much of her life, but dedicated the win to them in her acceptance speech (more details). “I was glad I could give them this victory because everyone suffered a lot from the situation in the last few years. And today, finally, we are united in this joy and we can share this moment, and it's great,” she said after the match. “Not everything is easy, but it's great.”

Over the last couple of months, the normally-shy Belgian has repeatedly talked about reaching out to her fans and trying to be more open with her emotions.

Of course, some things never change. Also in the stands was steadfast coach Carlos Rodgriguez, who has worked with Henin since she was in her early teens. And as after every victory, she raised her arms and face to the sky in memory of her mother, who brought a 10-year-old Henin to Roland Garros for the 1992 final and began her daughter’s dreams of a professional career.

Henin watched her favorite player Steffi Graf go down in a marathon match that day, but vowed to one day take part in the occasion herself. Winning her third consecutive title fifteen years later, she matches an Open Era feat achieved only by the player who beat Graf in that 1992 final – Monica Seles.

Less than a year after that match, watching Seles would inspire a five-year-old Ivanovic to memorize the phone number for tennis lessons from a TV commercial and beg her parents to take her.

Unfortunately, Saturday’s encounter was reminiscent of more one-sided encounters than the classic battle Henin watched from the stands all those years ago. Ivanovic, who had never been past the quarterfinals of a Grand Slam before, admitted to being overwhelmed by the occasion.

Still, she does not plan to follow in the footsteps of Natasha Zvereva, who also reached her first Grand Slam final at Roland Garros in 1988 but never mounted a similar campaign after receiving a 6-0, 6-0 drubbing from Graf.

“I have ambitions to win Grand Slams and reach a position of No. 1, but I think this was a great experience for me... dealing with the nerves and the pressure,” said Ivanovic. “And now I know the feeling, so next time, probably, when that feeling comes, I will know how to deal with it better.”

Belying the eventual scoreline, she made a positive start, breaking Henin in the very first game. But stepping up to serve herself, the Serb found her own delivery was no longer as reliable as it had been for the rest of the fortnight.

“I started to be a little nervous and my ball toss was all over the place. It was very hard for me to serve and she used that opportunity well,” said Ivanovic, who got in just 44 percent of her first serves during the opening set.

On the other side of the net, Henin sensed her opponent’s vulnerability. “She was a little nervous, I could feel it,” she said. “I did hit one or two pretty good forehands. And I felt a little bit more free after that.”

Though the next few games remained close, Ivanovic’s initial wobble sent a tremor though the rest of her arsenal. Henin slowly began to impose her game, much like a boa constrictor squeezing the air out of its victim, and increased her stranglehold by breaking easily in the first game of the second set.

Ana Ivanovic lost her first Grand Slam final 6-1, 6-2, but could still smile afterwards.                     © Pierre Verdy/AFP Getty

Compatriot Novak Djokovic was watching Ivanovic from the stands and could probably relate, having been wrung out in his semifinal match by Rafael Nadal, who will be attempting to match Henin’s feat of three consecutive victories on Sunday.

Together with Ivanovic, Djokovic and semifinalist Jelena Jankovic had helped give Serbia a wildly successful showing at the French Open this year, but the party was now clearly drawing to a close.

Ivanovic pumped her fist after finally hitting a clean winner in the second game of the second set, but as earlier, could not build any momentum. “If I could control my emotions better, it would be much different match,” she said. “I was very excited. So even if I would try to relax and then look back on the court, it was like ‘Come on, now, this point.’ So the emotions would be back, and not really gone away.”

The end arrived after an hour and four minutes. Ivanovic overruled a call in Henin’s favour to send the Belgian to match point, and like most world No.1s, she did not need a second opportunity, putting away a volley and sending her racquet high into the air in celebration.

Leaning at the net, the Belgian smiled at the crowd. Here, finally, was complete confirmation that the transformation of her life off the court had not affected her effectiveness on the court.

“Each single second counted during this French Open. I enjoy my life even better now,” she said. “As I always say, you have to fight a lot in life, but when you come out of a fight, you feel stronger.

“I think if I hadn't had the courage to go forward, I would have had a lot of regrets. And I am very proud and happy that I was able to do it. Things are not always simple, they are still not simple, but it's important to go forward.”

Professionally, those words could easily have been post-match advice for Ivanovic, who lacked pre-match direction before the final. The coach she has been working with during the clay season, Sven Groneveld, is officially employed by adidas. Because adidas also sponsors Henin, he could not advise her before the match. Henin, meanwhile, regularly consulted notes written by Rodriguez before the match.

Ivanovic agreed that some tactical advice from Groneveld might have helped, but pointed to her own emotions as the deciding factor. “I was actually surprised that I got quite a good night of sleep,” she said. “And also this morning in the beginning, as I said, I felt okay. But then, at some point I just realized what was happening.”

Overall, however, she assessed the two weeks as positive. “I had an amazing two weeks here, and I played some really good tennis. I beat a few top players, so that gave me a lot of confidence. And this is whole new situation I had to deal with,” she said.

Henin, given to tossing and turning the night before an important match, was told that Ivanovic said she had slept peacefully before the final.

“This is something you learn,” said Henin.